Pile foundation should be necessary

when and where :

1. Pile foundation is needed in areas where
the structures constructed are large & heavy
and the soil underlying is weak.
2. In areas where settlement issues are
common due to soil liquefaction or water
table issues, pile foundation is a better
choice.
3. In some situtations, the sub-soil water
table at the site will be so high that the use
of other foundation will be affected badly. In
such a situation, pile foundations can be
easily penetrated through the water and
extended until a hard stratum is reached.
4. Structures might be subjected to
horizontal forces that will bring effect to the
foundation. The use of pile foundation help
in resisting this bending action along with
supporting the vertical load coming over the
 foundation. Hence pile foundation is needed
for the construction of earth water retaining
structures and building structures highly
subjected to lateral (earthquake and wind)
forces.
5. The pile foundation is necessary to resist
the uplift forces created due to water table
rise or any other cause. Uplift forces are
more common in the construction of
transmission towers and off-shore platforms.
These structures will need pile foundations.
6. Pile foundation is necessary for areas
where the structure surrounding has chances
for soil erosion. This might not be resisted
by the shallow foundations.
7. When the plan of the structure is not
regular the load distribution also will not be
uniform in nature. Employing a shallow
foundation in these cases will result in the
differential settlement. In order to eliminate
differential settlement in such cases, the pile
foundation becomes necessary.
8. Pile foundation is needed near deep
drainage and canal lines.